Annual Connecting 4 Justice International Conference to be held at Ashland University

This year, the 16th annual Connecting 4 Justice International Conference will be hosted by Ohio's Ashland University. The conference will explore the successes and challenges of those who are transitioning out of the prison system and returning to their communities and families. It will be conducted on Ashland University’s campus over the course of three days, starting on Wednesday, September 18, and ending on Friday, September 20. The theme of the conference is “Conversations, Collaboration, and Community.”

The Connecting 4 Justice International Conference used to be called the InterNational Prisoners Family Conference, and is put on through a partnership between The Ridge Project and Ashland University. The organizers hope that the event creates conversations about how to best fill the voids in the prison system and is intended for anyone who wants to learn more about how best to act in order to improve the success and wellbeing of people who have been impacted by the justice system and who are returning home to their communities. The conference will cover this in both personal and professional perspectives.

In the past the conferences have been attended by people who have previously been incarcerated, government officials, educators, social service agencies, mental health professionals, health care providers, criminal justice personnel, faith based organizations, attorneys, addictions counselors, and people from many other walks of life.

The event will host panelists and expert speakers covering such topics as the challenges facing both incarcerated people and their loved ones at home, the importance of family support, the importance of higher education for those incarcerated, how to connect to valuable reentry services through the department of corrections, various nonprofit groups, and other helpful social support agencies.

In an article posted on Ashland University’s website, Ashland’s assistant vice president of correctional education, Jim Cox, spoke about the event, saying, “This work, to provide pathways for reunification with families and communities, to attain educational degrees and training, and to pave clear connections to economically sustaining careers and employment, can only be achieved through the conversation and collaboration of many organizations and agencies … a quilt coming together with a common goal.”

As the event draws nearer, a wide range of workshops and presentations are being added to the agenda, one of which is a keynote address by ethical leadership expert and author Chuck Gallagher. He will present a talk called “Victim or Victor,” which will focus on the importance of creating the idea of a future where people who have gone through the prison system are empowered by their choices rather than defined by their past.

Gallagher is currently a vice president of sales and marketing for American Funeral Financial, as well as the president of Ethics Resource Group. However, prior to holding those positions, he had been convicted of tax evasion and embezzlement. His talk will go over the lessons he has learned along the way, from the time he spent in prison to his positions of ethical leadership by covering the specific challenges he faced when reentering society. The keynote is designed to provide the audience with necessary strategies and tools to transition back into society confidently.

Perry Holloway, an Ashland alum, will also be a featured speaker at the event. He is a managing partner of schoolman101.com, and is an advocate for justice reform. He is working to create initiatives that will help to prevent young people from falling into the prison pipeline. He also advocates for changes in the legislature aimed at reducing the number of people in prison. Holloway’s presentation is titled “From Mass Incarceration to Decarceration.” The talk will look at various policies that look to lower the number of incarcerated people while also promoting alternatives to the prison system.

Director of Ashland University’’s Psychological Counseling Services, Oscar McKnight, Ph.D., will be presenting a talk called “A Qualitative Examination of Life, Career, and Educational Expectations.” McKnight has worked as a mental health professional for over three decades and has experience in both counseling and administration. His work has largely focused on previously incarcerated, or justice-involved persons. 

More information about the conference can be found at the event’s website.

More information about Ashland University can be found at the school’s website.